All your results, in one place.
Add a report from your GP, the NHS App or a clinic, and see your results, medicine and how you feel over time. We explain each level in plain words, read against the lab’s own range. Members watch these films in the app, beside their own results.
Start free trialFor adults in the UK. Free for 7 days, then £3.25 a month when you pay £39 a year, or £3.99 paid monthly. Cancel at any time.
The film in words
Some people on levothyroxine still have symptoms even when their TSH is in range. Taking the medicine and having regular blood tests may not be enough on their own to feel well all of the time.
It’s common to feel emotionally and mentally “not quite right” for some time, even after blood tests return to normal.
Levothyroxine is slow-acting: it may take several months for symptoms to ease, and a little while after a dose change.
How it’s taken matters. Food, drinks with caffeine, and some medicines and supplements can affect how well it’s absorbed.
If you’re doing those things and still don’t feel well, the British Thyroid Foundation’s advice is to make an appointment with your doctor to talk about your symptoms.
Your doctor may look for other causes, such as low iron, low vitamin B12, low vitamin D and coeliac disease. If these have been ruled out, you can ask your GP to consider referring you to a thyroid specialist.
On levothyroxine, if symptoms carry on, guidance for doctors is to consider testing free T4 as well as TSH.
You can ask your doctor whether there’s room for a slight adjustment of your dose, if your TSH can be kept within the range. Don’t change your dose without talking to your doctor first.
Noting how you feel each month, beside your results, gives you something clear to take to an appointment. Check in, and print the summary for your GP.
Sources: British Thyroid Foundation: hypothyroidism; British Thyroid Foundation: living with hypothyroidism; NICE NG145; British Thyroid Foundation: thyroid function tests
More films
How your thyroid worksThe gland, its two hormones, and the signal from the brain that runs it.1 min 15
What your blood test showsWhat a usual test looks at, TSH and free T4 side by side, and lab ranges.1 min 31
Hashimoto’s: why the thyroid slows downThe immune system, TPO antibodies, and why the test isn’t repeated.1 min 04
Levothyroxine, and how to take itWhat it does, taking it so it’s absorbed, missed doses, and why changes take time.1 min 41
Basic and full thyroid testsWhat TSH, free T4, free T3 and the two antibodies each add.1 min 33
Lab ranges and your reportThe units on a report, typical ranges as a guide, age, and antibody cut-offs.1 min 17
TPO antibodies, in detailWhat a positive result can mean, with or without a thyroid problem, and why it stays.1 min 11
Tg antibodies, in detailThyroglobulin, why it’s watched after thyroid cancer, and what its antibodies change.58 sec
Iron, B12 and vitamin DOther results you may have, why they come up with the thyroid, and coeliac disease.1 min 25
Pregnancy and your thyroidPlanning a pregnancy, the dose and tests in pregnancy, and after the birth.1 min 33
General information, not a diagnosis. Your GP can tell you what your results mean for you.